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GCSEEnglish LiteratureAQARevision Notes1. ShakespeareThe TempestThe Tempest: Context

The Tempest: Context (AQA GCSE English Literature): Revision Note

Exam code: 8702

Sam Evans

Written by: Sam Evans

Reviewed by: Deb Orrock

Updated on

Historical context

When The Tempest was first performed in 1611, British expansion was mostly limited to the Americas, India and Southeast Asia, as well as some trade with Africa. Naval explorers were sent to discover new lands, source new trade routes, find exotic goods, and seek opportunities for settlement. Encounters with indigenous peoples were often marked by attempts at religious conversion, the imposition of English cultural norms and, in some cases, enslavement or forced labour to support their enterprises. 

British expansion: colonisation and slavery

  • Shakespeare wrote his plays at a time of European expansion and colonisation

  • Following Spanish and Portuguese explorers who settled in the Americas and Africa, Queen Elizabeth I advocated for British exploration and colonisation:

    • For example, Elizabeth I sent Walter Raleigh to establish colonies in North America, and backed explorers searching for economic opportunities

    • The transatlantic slave trade, whereby European settlers transported Africans to the Americas to work for them, was underway by this time

    • Queen Elizabeth’s successor, James I, developed more colonies in North America in 1606, and the English began to move and settle there in 1607 

  • The play may have been based on a well-reported shipwreck that occurred in 1609:

    • A ship sent to supply settlers in America met a severe storm, exiling the sailors to Bermuda, a small island off its coast

    • Such stories would have been sensational in Shakespeare’s England, a society before world travel and a knowledge of other cultures was commonplace for most ordinary people

    • As well as this, the absence of Christianity in the new lands led to ideologies that perceived the natives as uncivilised and immoral 

How this links to The Tempest

British exploration and expansion

  • In the exposition, Ariel tells Prospero that the ship is in the “still-vexed Bermudas”. This may establish a connection between the setting of an exotic island and the 1609 shipwreck

  • Perhaps Shakespeare creates a magical island full of “sounds and sweet airs” to present the undiscovered nature of the island and the mysterious characters who inhabit such places

Colonisation and cultural conflict

  • The difficulties between settlers and natives (Prospero and Caliban) create much of the play’s conflict as they revolve around ownership of the land

  • As well as this, Shakespeare details how Caliban helped Prospero thrive on the island when he arrived, and was exploited in return, a pattern that Shakespeare and other peers may have begun to notice at the time of colonisation and slavery

  • It is worth noting that Caliban is immediately called a “savage” and “monster”; he trusts the settlers implicitly, but is betrayed

  • Shakespeare illustrates increasing dissatisfaction in colonies through Caliban’s anger

Slavery 

  • Prospero represents the European settler who is armed with sophisticated “arts” and language that allow him to enslave the inhabitants of the island

  • As well as Caliban, Ariel is made Prospero’s servant. They are both treated unfairly and threatened

  • While Caliban represents a resentful native who violently protests his enslavement and the loss of his autonomy, Ariel symbolises more obedient enslaved natives who worked hard alongside settlers in hope of gaining freedom

Social context

The play explores matters closer to home as its plot revolves around political intrigue and corruption. Citizens of Jacobean Britain were no strangers to violent power grabs and deceitful plans of betrayal within the monarchy and court. In early modern English culture, Italy was often stereotyped as a place of political corruption, assassinations and Machiavellian scheming, particularly in Jacobean drama. With religious tensions between Catholics and Protestants in England, it is no wonder Shakespeare’s final play considers a perfect or utopian society. 

Imperialist power

  • As England’s colonial ambitions and overseas ventures grew, so did philosophies about gaining power by any means

  • Political alliances within the nobility, and strategically arranged marriages, were popular ways of improving status

  • Marriages that created descendants, allowing one better access to power, were especially important

The Divine Right of Kings

  • Class and status of citizens in Jacobean Britain was determined by a strict hierarchical system called The Divine Right of Kings:

    • This societal ranking system determined that kings had absolute power as they were chosen by God

  • This automatically offered opportunities for power in terms of connection to the king, creating a powerful ‘noble’ class

Patriarchal society

  • Jacobean England was a patriarchal society, and it adhered to traditional systems of order (reinforced by Christian texts):

    • Citizens were ranked according to a patriarchal system in which fathers and husbands held power over daughters and wives

    • Women were classed according to their marital and sexual status

    • Marriage or noble birth were the main means to financial security and social acceptance

    • Women were valued for their capacity to create descendants, preferably male, and to marry and form geo-political alliances

How this links to The Tempest

Imperialist Power

  • The protagonist, Prospero, is a victim of political corruption (he refers to it as “foul play”)

  • His brother, Antonio, schemed with King Alonso to remove Prospero as Duke of Milan and force him to the island

  • Prospero’s sense of betrayal leads his plan for justice

  • Shakespeare illustrates the relentless nature of easy betrayal and the need for power through Antonio’s and Stephano’s treacherous actions on the island

  • They both scheme to kill Alonso and Prospero respectively, in order to be king and rule over land. Gonzalo, in contrast, expresses his wish for a world with no “traffic or trade”

The Divine Right of Kings

  • The play’s opening scene humorously illustrates the dangers of absolute monarchy when the Boatswain of the ship tells the king and his men that the stormy waves do not care “for the name of king”, implying the unstable foundation of such systems

  • Gonzalo speaks of a perfect society, a “commonwealth” not controlled by “sovereignty” or “treason”, but one in which men live in “harmony” off the land

  • This is ironic as Caliban appears to represent a native living off the island in just such a way before Prospero’s arrival.  

Patriarchal society

  • Miranda’s vulnerable position on the island is a result of her capacity to bear children

  • Caliban and Stephano are presented as characters who wish to make her their “queen” in a bid to create descendants and rule the island

  • Her father controls her marriage to Ferdinand, utilising it as a means to regain his dukedom. 

Literary context

Shakespeare’s final solo play, The Tempest, was written around 1610. It is considered a romantic comedy that blends elements of tragedy. The play is typical of Shakespeare’s plays in that it explores human flaws and extreme emotional reactions, while its denouement encourages mercy and forgiveness as the ultimate virtues. Shakespeare’s plays often examine the power of nature over man, implying the fragile systems under which societies exist. 

  • Conventions of typical Jacobean comedies include romantic troubles, often created by a jealous villain, resolved in the denouement with a wedding:

    • However, the marriages that end Shakespeare’s comedies often present the hypocritical standards and values of his society 

    • Shakespeare’s comedies aim to mock superficial, shallow characters, expose flaws, and do so in a way that makes audiences laugh at human nature

  • However, Shakespeare’s comedies often blend elements of tragedy through political plots and themes of power and oppression to reflect societal injustices

  • In Jacobean England, stories of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries in the Americas, as well as other published accounts of global explorations, were popular

How this links to The Tempest

The genre of comedy and tragedy 

  • The play’s villains, particularly the king and his men, are tricked and mocked by natural spirits, and find themselves lost and distressed on a strange island

  • These circumstances, humorously depicted with slapstick, pun, and invisible voices, encourage the audience to laugh at the men’s confusion and weakness. This exposes their hypocrisies and superficial concerns

  • The marriage between Miranda and Ferdinand is typically ironic: Ferdinand is the “third man” Miranda has ever seen

  • However, the play’s presentation of enslaved and vulnerable characters such as Ariel, Caliban, and Ferdinand create pathos, and reveal the damaging effects of abusive power

The New World

  • The term “New World” is mentioned in The Tempest, exploring contemporary debates, common in sixteenth and seventeenth century literature, about the “new world”, a term used to describe North America

  • Ironically, the line “brave new world” is spoken by the most innocent and sheltered of the play’s characters, Miranda

  • It may connote to the old world to which they are returning (Milan), but it would be recognised as connoting to new lands being discovered, and a growing British presence in America 

Source

https://www.shakespearesglobe.com


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    Author
    Reviewer
    Sam Evans

    Author: Sam Evans

    Expertise: English Content Creator

    Sam is a graduate in English Language and Literature, specialising in journalism and the history and varieties of English. Before teaching, Sam had a career in tourism in South Africa and Europe. After training to become a teacher, Sam taught English Language and Literature and Communication and Culture in three outstanding secondary schools across England. Her teaching experience began in nursery schools, where she achieved a qualification in Early Years Foundation education. Sam went on to train in the SEN department of a secondary school, working closely with visually impaired students. From there, she went on to manage KS3 and GCSE English language and literature, as well as leading the Sixth Form curriculum. During this time, Sam trained as an examiner in AQA and iGCSE and has marked GCSE English examinations across a range of specifications. She went on to tutor Business English, English as a Second Language and international GCSE English to students around the world, as well as tutoring A level, GCSE and KS3 students for educational provisions in England. Sam freelances as a ghostwriter on novels, business articles and reports, academic resources and non-fiction books.

    Deb Orrock

    Reviewer: Deb Orrock

    Expertise: English Content Creator

    Deb is a graduate of Lancaster University and The University of Wolverhampton. After some time travelling and a successful career in the travel industry, she re-trained in education, specialising in literacy. She has over 16 years’ experience of working in education, teaching English Literature, English Language, Functional Skills English, ESOL and on Access to HE courses. She has also held curriculum and quality manager roles, and worked with organisations on embedding literacy and numeracy into vocational curriculums. She most recently managed a post-16 English curriculum as well as writing educational content and resources.